


The (Mis)Adventures of Two Children and an Irresponsible Chaperone

by Ausp_ice, Zykaben



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: (Edited) RP Log, Crystal Peak, Gen, Illustrated, Major Character Injury, chaos trio, that's it that's the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2020-10-18 21:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20646257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ausp_ice/pseuds/Ausp_ice, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zykaben/pseuds/Zykaben
Summary: The first meeting and subsequent adventures of Elk and Wiki with Heart! The beginning of a beautiful friendship. Or maybe the beginning of a remarkable trail of shenanigans in a chaos trio with little sense of self-preservation.--An RP between@elk-and-thearchivistand@heart-the-vessel!





	1. Enter the Peak

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! We're back again with another RP
> 
> Auspice: Characters are Elk and Wiki, RP/Art/Ask/HK fandom blog is [@elk-and-thearchivist](https://elk-and-thearchivist.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Zykaben: Character is Heart from RP/Art/Ask/HK fandom blog [@heart-the-vessel](https://heart-the-vessel.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Tumblr Archive: [here](https://elk-and-thearchivist.tumblr.com/tagged/children%20and%20chaperone).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It begins.
> 
> For this chapter's artwork, Auspice did the composition, sketch, and effects, while Zykaben did the flats and shading! You can see a process gif [here](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/614242794793598986/622580991705219121/image0.gif).
> 
> The painting mid-chapter is the first artwork Zykaben drew of the three! We repurposed it here, heh.

* * *

Crystal Peak was truly a marvel unlike any other in Hallownest. Its glittering spires were visible from any point on the surface—though, admittedly, most of Hallownest was underground.

Of _ most _ interest were the crystals, shining with their own unique light. And with their own mysterious properties. Enough bugs certainly felt drawn enough to spend their entire lives and subsequent un-lives mining away at the ore.

Indeed, the crystals and their unusual properties were what drew Wiki and Elk to the caverns this day.

It wasn't long before they found themselves trailing behind a crystal crawler, Elk walking slowly behind it as Wiki observed its processes.

“Walking” was more “using amorphous tendrils to climb the walls” and “processes” was more “firing lasers,” though.

“Fascinating. Very fascinating!” Wiki floated in front of Elk, their tendrils hovering around the crawler. “Periodically focusing the energy in the crystals into a point of destructive light… They do say that these crystals can help you focus your energy. Perhaps it could improve your own focus, if we are able to refine its properties…”

“That would be pretty helpful… ” Wiki could feel Elk's spark of interest. “I don't often gather enough soul to easily heal. If the crystals help…?”

“Mm.” Wiki hummed. “They can, I'm sure. Just not sure how.”

No sooner had Wiki finished their sentence than they and Elk heard the faint sound of something—or someone—scrambling hastily against the rocky ground above them. Whatever it was sounded small, but they both knew that assumption wasn’t grounds to guarantee their safety, not in a place like Hallownest.

Then, with an almost startling amount of speed, something was dropping from above and to the ground, landing not even throwing-distance away from them. They both quickly made out the small figure, standing somewhat shorter than Elk and looking similar in build—a vessel. One with horns that curved up and inwards, ending in what looked to be sharp points. The only other real thing of note was that they seemed to wear a red scarf around their neck.

The vessel stared at Elk and Wiki before they took off towards them at a break-neck pace, arms waving frantically above their head as they did so. The vessel couldn't quite manage to skid to a halt before crashing into Wiki and Elk, still waving their arms spastically.

" _ Wh- _ " Wiki jerked back in surprise, leaving Elk to receive the brunt of the impact.

Said vessel could do little but try to catch the newcomer by their flailing arms, almost toppled by their momentum. "U-uh..." Elk pulled backwards, looking over the vessel before glancing to Wiki.

They placed a tendril on their chin as they drew near. "Hello, there! We didn't expect to see another vessel here. Where did you come from?"

The vessel waved at Wiki for a few more moments. Once they had stopped, they pointed upwards, head craning back as they did. They looked back to Wiki and Elk, letting their gaze drift between the two of them. They then reached under their cloak, seemingly rustling around for something.

The length of quiet stretched before the vessel perked up and jerked their arms back up. Held in their clutches were a sparkling necklace of gold with a royal blue gemstone strung from the end, a smooth, sparkling rock with a soft green hue, and a pink crystal—the same kind that grew unrestrained in Crystal Peak. The vessel held out the items towards Elk and Wiki, practically bouncing as they did so.

"Oh?" Wiki leaned towards their collection. "Ohoho?" The vessel seemed to perk up at Wiki's interest, straightening.

"These are so pretty!" Elk reached towards the vessel's handful of items, before hesitating in their approach. "Are these..."

"I do hope you wouldn't mind if I just-" Wiki used a tendril to lift the necklace with the blue gemstone (despite a half-hearted protest from Elk), eyes riveted on the glittering facets. "The way the light catches this stone! Hardly any skilled jewelers exist anymore, yes this is cut quite well. Oh, interesting... very interesting..."

Their companion preened at that. But their attention was quickly drawn to Elk as they began fidgeting nervously. "Sorry, uh... Come to think of it, we don't know what to call you. Do you... have a name that you'd be able to share? If you can emote, or write, or..."

The other vessel nodded to them, reaching under their cloak once more before producing a wrinkled piece of parchment and a simple quill. They scribbled on it hastily. After nodding to themself, satisfied with their work, they turned the parchment around. Sketched messily onto its surface were several hearts, an arrow pointing towards the largest one. They then gestured towards Elk and Wiki with their quill before cocking their head to one side.

Elk looked intently at the paper. "A bunch of hearts... oh! Heart! That's your name?" The vessel—Heart—nodded excitedly.

Wiki huffed in amusement. Heart was very enthusiastic. "Aheh... it suits the shape of their mask." Wiki traced a vague shape of a heart in the air, following the curvature of Heart's horns. "And, oh! If you were asking about us - this is Elk," Elk waved as Wiki gestured to them, "and I am Wiki, the Archivist. We share the same voice, sometimes the same body, and occasionally the same mind."

Heart waved at both of them—a greeting for meeting officially, perhaps.. They stowed the paper and quill away and then made a large, sweeping gesture around the area before pointing at Elk and Wiki, letting their head fall to the side in question again.

Wiki tapped their chin in thought. That would be... "Are you..."

"Asking what we're doing here?" Elk mirrored Heart's head tilt. "If so, it's mostly Wiki wanting the study the crystals and me wanting to see the sights."

Heart nodded, obviously pleased with Elk's deduction. They threw their arms around Elk in a short but strong hug before stepping back and swaying cheerfully.

Elk squeaked a but in surprise, Wiki chuckling a little in turn. They could feel Elk's slight embarrassment at that filtering through their connection. _ I wasn't expecting it, alright? Not a lot of bugs hug bugs they just met. _

_ Understandable. But still amusing _ . Wiki turned to Heart, who met their gaze curiously . "You seem... much friendlier than I'd expect for a vessel. Certainly, more than most bugs, but my point still stands. I do wonder how long you've been wandering around here, free to develop your own mind..."

Elk smoothed out their cloak. "And it isn't really... safe, around here. I suppose you'd have to... hmm. Do you know your way around this place?"

Heart nodded, their chest puffing up slightly with pride. They stepped forwards to deliver another quick hug to one of Wiki's tendrils. Wiki blinked, not expecting the contact. _ My turn to be dazzled by such friendliness? _

Heart darted away before Wiki could properly respond, trekking a decent distance away from them. The vessel stopped and turned back, waving towards the two of them and then making sweeping motions towards themself.

Wiki shook their head a bit, before looking towards Elk. _ Well... looks like they want us to follow. _

Elk met Wiki's gaze, before turning back towards Heart. _ They seem nice. Might as well. _

"Then, let us follow!" Wiki melted back into Elk's void, and they swiftly made their way over. "Lead the way, friend."

Heart gave a quick nod to Elk and Wiki, skipping along as the two trailed behind them.

* * *

Heart was so excited that they were practically _ shaking _ .

They had been scouring Crystal Peak for more shiny trinkets and pretty baubles when they had happened upon Wiki and Elk—and they were both so amazing! The fact that the two of them shared a mind was so interesting! Heart wondered what that would be like... maybe they could find a way to ask them. After all, they had taken Heart’s gifts, so that meant they were all friends now!

But that could all happen later. For now, Heart wanted to show their new friends what they had been leading to.

They had finally reached their destination: the large, decrepit mining machine that leaned against the cavern wall. The Crystal Heart (at least, that’s what Haunt had called it) had been a lucky find, one that Heart wasn’t looking to give away any time soon. There were probably more scattered about the mines, but Heart hadn’t found any yet.

Regardless, Heart turned back to their new friends and raised their hands up in celebration. They hoped that they would both be excited about the machine.

"Oh!" Elk craned their neck, peering at the machine. "That's... so cool. Do you know what it is?"

Wiki interrupted before Heart could respond. "A mining golem!" They all but exploded out of Elk, tendrils splaying across the stone and rails as they drew closer to Heart - and thus closer to the machine. "Amazing! I thought they would all be destroyed by now, a lot of bugs were concerned about their safety... And its core is still intact!" They turned to Heart. "How did you find this? Are there any more?"

Heart remembered all too well how they had found the machine. They pointed upwards to the hole above them. They still remembered the feeling of panic that had overtaken them when the ground under them had crumbled. But it led to such a beautiful discovery that they had long since made peace with it.

For the second question… Heart shifted their balance from one foot to another as they tried to remember. They might have seen another one, but it was on the other side of a tunnel that was filled with all sorts of hostile bugs—they hadn’t even tried to get to it. But maybe Elk and Wiki were strong enough to get through? Or maybe they were at least braver than Heart was, which wouldn’t surprise them.

It wouldn’t be a direct path, but Heart knew the way. There was a bunch that they could rest on that wasn’t too far away, and there was that fun area filled with all of the conveyor belts going up and down. It would be a fun adventure with their new friends!

Heart finally nodded to Wiki’s last question. Maybe there would be another Crystal Heart that their new friends could have!

Their eyes practically lit up with excitement, a contrast to their mildly concerned expression mere moments ago. "Truly? Do you- could you- do you think-"

Elk patted one of Wiki's tendrils, shaking their head. "What we want to ask is: could you take us to where they are?"

_ "Yes!" _ Wiki was near vibrating. "Oh, we'd love to study them, but I didn't know if you'd be alright with us messing around with this one if it was the only one you found."

Heart gave a cheery nod to Wiki. They were more than happy to guide their friends to the other golem, especially since they seemed so interested in it.

Elk straightened, clearly eager—but then pulled back slightly. "I suppose we should ask if they're easy to get to."

Heart swayed from side to side before settling on a shrug. It wasn’t a particularly hard area to get to, but there might be problems if they encountered strong opponents. Heart could probably shield them all with their spell, but it was… less than ideal. If the journey ended up not working out, they could always show Wiki and Elk the Crystal Heart they had stowed away in their inventory, maybe even give it to them if they both really wanted it.

But for now, they’d leave the decision of whether or not to go up to Elk and Wiki.

Said two were looking at each other meaningfully, as if having some kind of silent exchange. Elk gave a one-shoulder shrug, turning back to Heart. "We'll take that as a 'sort-of.' Is it trouble from the mines if some parts are unstable, or trouble with the bugs around here?"

Wiki hummed. "Mm. We're quite good with maneuvering around environments. Having a number of amorphous limbs is quite useful, heh. As for dangerous bugs..."

Elk fidgeted with their hands. "We... I don't really fight. We're generally good at avoiding them and running away, heh, but we're not too familiar with this place..."

Heart watched Elk’s fidgeting. Plum said that some bugs did that when they were feeling nervous and that simply wouldn’t do! Heart stepped forward and gave their friend a big hug. Elk seemed to lean into it, moving a little towards Heart even after they pulled away. Wiki shot Elk a look, but the vessel simply gave a subtle shake of their head - Heart barely caught it.

They put it out of their mind for now—they had information to share! They brought back out their parchment and quill, and began drawing. They sketched the ovular shapes of the miners and made sure to draw on very angry eyes to represent their hostility. After a moment of deliberation, they also drew on the crystals that some of them used to fire beams of energy. They added a quick depiction of a crystal hunter above them as well, giving it a smirk and the same angry expression.

Satisfied with their work, they turned it around to show Elk and Wiki.

Elk moved to look over to Heart's drawings, and despite their inability to make expressions, their eyes seemed to sparkle. "Oh! You draw so well!" They clapped their hands together once. "We saw a few of these earlier - we did our best to avoid them, though."

Heart perked up at Elk’s compliment, something warm and cozy settling in their chest. Maybe they could draw something for them later as another gift, something without mean monsters that wanted to hurt people.

"That one, though." Wiki pointed to the crystal hunter. "That one was truly a pain. We got away, of course, but that doesn't make them any less irksome."

Heart nodded in commiseration. The crystal hunters were the _ worst _ . They flew around and attacked anyone they saw—and their crystal attacks just shattered into dust after less than a minute! It was a cruel thing, making something so beautiful that caused so much hurt and then just disappeared. At least the miners kept their crystals.

Heart stowed the paper and quill away before turning back to Elk and Wiki. They gestured vaguely back to where they had all came from and cocked their head to one side, trying to ask what the two would like to do.

"Are you asking if we still want to go?" Wiki tilted their head.

"We still do!" Elk pumped a fist, punctuating their statement. "A little danger can't hold us back from a fun adventure! Though we'd have to take your lead for this one."

Heart nodded eagerly, finding themself getting caught up in Elk's excitement. They rushed forward and pulled Elk in with one arm and Wiki's tendril in with the other and did their best to hug them. They let go and bounced back towards the entrance of the cavern and waved, ready for an adventure.

Elk bounded after them eagerly, Wiki once again merging into their void.


	2. The Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They bite off a little more than they can chew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE LIVE
> 
> For this chapter's artwork, Zykaben did the composition and sketch, while Auspice did the rest! You can see a process gif [here](https://sta.sh/0czdkxmewuh).

Heart was... a very affectionate individual. Elk couldn't help but think about it, their cheerful disposition, their many, many hugs. 

They thought about the hugs a lot. They felt nice. Wiki was nice too, and gave hugs sometimes, but they were practically the same being sometimes so that was a little different. 

They followed closely behind Heart, the crimson of their scarf easily visible amongst the vibrant pink of the crystals and the muted gray of the surrounding stone. So far, they haven't encountered too much trouble, skirting around the infected bugs before they could be spotted. Elk was very good at that. Heart often checked back to make sure they were following - giving an enthusiastic wave to them if they were fairly far, as they were now.

Elk used a tendril to wave back, before hopping down a ledge to make their way over. Heart had so much energy, Elk wondered where they got it all.

Wiki's amusement was a familiar tickle in their mind.  _ It's excellent. Their excitement is infectious! I'm enjoying this exploration much more than usual. Or perhaps it's just my anticipation at finding the old mining golems. _

Elk gave a mental laugh at that. _ You get excited about a lot of things, though. _

_ True! But now we have a very interesting companion! And we both know we both like them.  _

Of course. Elk needed no words to confirm that. 

They made it to where Heart was waiting for them, climbing up the ledge and giving them a little wave. "Well, where to next?"

Heart gave a small hop before trotting towards the opening of a tunnel before them. They stopped to glance back at Elk and, upon seeing that they were following, continued forward with a little more energy.

It only took a few moments before the tunnel widened to reveal a large cavern with several, stone shacks lining the leftmost wall. Barrels full of crystals were scattered about the area, occasionally catching the sparse amount of light in the room and glinting at them. In the center of the cavern was a black metal bench, a lone figure with crystals on its head slumped against its backing.

Heart's pace slowed to a stop, their gaze locked onto the unmoving bug. Their head slowly fell to one side as they stared at it.

"What is that?" Elk muttered. "Is it.... alive? Or undead, as they are a lot around here?" It certainly didn't look it. And plenty of bug corpses were littered around Hallownest.

"I can't tell from here..." Wiki emerged from Elk, drawing closer to the bug. "It looks a bit like those crystallized miners, but this one is completely overcome. I can try reading the remnants to its mind to see what's happened to it." 

Elk felt a sense of apprehension, somehow. "Heart, have you seen this bug before? Or one like it?" They slowly walked towards the bug, allowing Wiki to pull closer it.

Heart slowly shook their head, trailing hesitantly behind Wiki as they drew closer. After hesitating for a bit, they grabbed one of Wiki’s straying tendrils and squeezed it against their chest. They continued staring at the bug.

"Hm?" Wiki looked at Heart. Their tendril curled around Heart gently. "Are you worried? It... it should be fine. I..."

Wiki's mind seemed to become muffled from Elk for a moment.  _ Wiki? _ Their companion blinked. "Hm? Ah, yes, I was going to... Yes. The information it has will be very helpful, I'm sure..." Wiki extended a tendril, lightly touching the crystallized bug's face.

_ Tired... _

The thoughts filtered into them from their connection to Wiki.

_ Light... more... _

Vague memories sprouted in their mind. Digging, digging. Crystals everywhere.

A golem towering before them. It was never enough. The whirr of machinery, the sounds of breaking stone. The clink of crystals, wealth unearthed from the mountain.

_ Mine... _

More golems. Their progress into the depths of the mountain's caverns was unmatched. But they needed more, more of the strange light shining from within the crystals.

Falling. Trapped. Burning. Light. Elk could see the barest tip of all the information Wiki was absorbing, fragmented memories flashing by.

A sense of confusion suddenly began to fill their mental landscape, the images falling away.

The bug wasn't dead. It was waking up. They needed to-

A screech jerked Elk out of their mind. Wiki recoiled harshly, the sudden disconnect jarring them, freezing them in place.

The bug on the bench now stood, eyes glowing with the sickly orange of the infection, the light refracting through the crystals that encased its head. The echo of its screams still lingered in the air as it settled into a balanced stance. The crystals on its arms  _ crackled _ as it turned to lock its beacon-like gaze onto the three of them.

No sooner had it done so then Elk saw a flash of crimson from their peripherals—Heart had latched onto one of Wiki’s tendrils before they grabbed Elk by the cloak and dragged them away from the miner, moving faster than Elk would have thought possible. After what could have only been two or three seconds, Elk found themself stumbling backwards as Heart let go of their cloak, a petrified Wiki at their side. Heart had planted themself before the two of them, shaking from mask to foot as they stared down the miner.

"How-" They tried to say, but it came out as a staticky, distorted sound. Elk couldn't use their voice with Wiki like this.

They looked to their friend - they were still dazed, gazing at nothing in particular. They gave a light pat to Heart's shoulder, in reassurance, in apology—and then grabbed one of Wiki's tendrils.  _ Not-safe-come-back _ , they urged. Feelings, rather than words. Those were easier to get across in times like these. 

They felt Wiki's muted acknowledgement, and in moments they flowed back into Elk's void. Elk looked back to the miner - it seemed to be getting its bearings, just as they were, but they doubted it would remain idle much longer. Not to mention that it stood between them and the exit.

They reached forward to grab Heart's hand, half in hopes to reassure themself and half in hopes to reassure them. What do they do now?

Elk could feel Heart trembling like a leaf when they grabbed their hand. Heart gave a quick squeeze to their hand while they used their free arm to reach under their cloak, the limb moving frantically and haphazardly. When Heart’s hand came back out, they were clutching one of the gaudiest nails that Elk had ever seen—the weapon’s hilt was covered in gemstones and intricate silver etchings covered the blade itself. It looked more ceremonial than anything else. Heart stuck the nail into the ground in front of Elk before they rummaged around produced a simple shield that was somehow even  _ gaudier  _ than the nail. Pieces of jewelry, shiny stones, and sharp, glinting metal bits adorned its surface. 

Heart hefted the shield in front of them, moving it to provide Elk with some amount of cover. They turned to look at Elk before they jerked their head towards the nail. Elk felt Heart give a second squeeze, a little more firm and a little longer than the first.

Elk gripped back - harder than they probably thought they were. They met Heart's gaze, and followed it to the nail.

D.... did they... did Heart want them to...

No, no, they don't have a choice here. 

It would be fine. This... this is different. This time, maybe, they could protect their sibling instead of...

...

They picked up the nail, sparing a moment to admire its artistry. But no more than that. With the fluidity of a knight - more a knight-in-training, really - the took their stance to face the miner. 

It screeched, the sound reverberating throughout the cavern, and took aim at them.

A slim ray of light streaked towards Elk and Heart, gleaming menacingly. Elk found themself being dragged out of the line of light by Heart and, just as they had seen with the crystal crawlers, the light turned into a massive beam of energy, scorching the wall it collided with with a deceptively-soft sizzling noise.

Heart turned to Elk, quickly tapped their mask against Elk's, and let go of their hand, rushing towards the miner with their shield held before them. It was hardly subtle, but the miner simply stood there as Heart rammed their shield against it before jumping back away from it. The miner just  _ stared _ . Then it leaped into the air—far higher than a bug its size should be able to—and crashed back down further away from Heart and Elk. That was when faint lines of light began emitting from the ceiling of the cavern.

Now,  _ that _ did not look good. Elk trained their eyes on the faint paths. Judging by what they've seen, they only had a few moments to respond. Seeing one of them near Heart, they ran towards them and pulled them close.

The soft sound of the beams passed, and Elk let go of Heart, looking for the miner. Heart's shield bash hardly did any damage at all, they have to...

They spotted the crystalline husk not too far away. It jumped closer, and Elk leaped towards it, swinging their nail with trained precision towards what they knew to be a vulnerable point in the bug's shell—

_ Darkness spilled over their nail, their hands _ —

No, no! It was the orange stain of the infection that sprayed from their strike as the miner staggered backwards. 

They faltered for a moment. Long enough for the miner to recover from Elk's attack.

It threw its head back and  _ screeched _ , swinging its arm to point directly at Elk. Before Elk could properly process the situation and react, Heart was streaking past them, shield held high as they bashed the shield repeatedly against the miner, leaning their full weight behind each hit. With each strike of the shield, the miner had to take a step back, unable to take the brunt of the attack while standing sturdy.

On the third strike, orange blobs of infection spewed from its body, some of the adornments on the shield obviously catching something on the miner's body. The miner had apparently had enough because the next time Heart went to drive it back it skirted to the side, the shield only managing to graze its left side. Heart, not expecting the move, was caught off-balance as the miner swung its arm at them, the crystal-covered limb slamming into Heart's body with a dull, crack-like sound. Heart's body went flying halfway across the cavern before hitting the ground, shield clattering beside them.

For a few, precious moments, Heart remained still. Then they were scrambling back to their feet and picking up their shield, doing their best to close the distance between themself and Elk.

The miner's gaze shifted from Heart to Elk.

They couldn't defeat this, they realized, as they looked into the eyes shining from the crystal. At least, they won't be walking away unscathed. 

Running was the better option. Especially now that—Elk glanced at Heart. Were they hurt? It didn't sound good, but they couldn't see anything from here. Then again, that throw landed them on the side of the exit. Ell locked eyes with Heart, and jerked their head towards the passageway. 

They didn't have time to see their response, as the miner jumped away from Elk and took aim once more. They sidestepped the beam and went in for another calculated strike, ignoring the terror that rose within them. Empty, be empty for now. For now.

Their strike landed cleanly, as expected. They slid around the momentarily stunned husk, running towards where they last saw Heart. Did they leave yet?

Elk’s upspoken question was quickly answered as they saw Heart racing towards them and covering their back with their shield. Once Heart reached Elk, they jabbed their free arm towards the exit and continued to run backwards, keeping their eyes locked onto the miner and their shield up. Elk could hear it screech once again, another beam streaking past them, far too close for comfort.

Another faint ray of light.

Elk glanced back just in time to see the blast of light make contact with Heart's shield.

A loud  _ boom _ filled the cavern as the energy from the blast threw Elk and Heart into the air. For what felt like an eternity, Elk was terrifyingly weightless. Then they crashed into the ground.

Elk rushed back onto their feet and whipped their mask around, Heart doing the same in short order. The ceiling was considerably lower than earlier, there was more light, and the distant sounds of the infected miners could be heard once more. The bug they had been fighting was a distance away now—far enough that Elk couldn't clearly make out any details. It shrieked again, but it didn't approach or try to fire at them. After a little longer, it shambled back to the bench and slumped onto it, eyes going dim.

And, just like that, it was over.

Elk watched the miner for a few more moments. They could see their nail shaking, minute tremors made more apparent from the length of the blade. 

Then, the tension bled out of them in a rush, and they vaguely felt the nail slide out of their hands. 

They were on the floor, they realized. When did they sit down?

Wait, not yet, they couldn't relax just yet—was Heart hurt? Their head shot up, looking for the other vessel.

Heart was standing right beside them, rummaging for something underneath their cloak again. Elk noticed that there were a few fractures along Heart's mask—nothing fatal from what they could tell, but Heart obviously hadn't gotten away from the hit they took unscathed.

Before Elk could manage to say or do anything, Heart found what they had been looking for and pulled it out: a worn, faded green blanket. Heart grabbed the blanket by one of its edges and quickly wrapped it around Elk's shoulders, the material soft and warm. Heart wasted no time in throwing their arms around Elk, hugging them for dear life.

Elk took no more than a second to squeeze back, just as tightly. 

That could have been... a lot worse. They felt their nerves settle, cocooned in the softness of the blanket, of Heart's embrace. They allowed their mind to empty itself of their worries, if just for this moment. Savoring the feeling of safety, the belief that they'd be fine.

They weren't sure how long they stayed like that, but the sounds of a pick hitting stone pulled them out of their haze. Right. They should find somewhere a little more isolated from the other denizens of the caverns. They pulled back a bit, and lightly tugged Heart's cloak. They looked around, and then to Heart, tilting their head.

Heart stared at them for a few moments before nodding. They went to adjust the blanket around Elk, making sure that it would stay secure around them. They grabbed the nail Elk had dropped along with their shield, stowing the items away. 

Once they had, Heart gingerly took Elk's hand into their own and began to make their way further down the tunnel and away from the crystal-encased miner.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to check out our Tumblrs:  
Auspice: [@ausp-ice](https://ausp-ice.tumblr.com/) / [@elk-and-thearchivist](https://elk-and-thearchivist.tumblr.com/)  
Zykaben: [@zykaben](https://zykaben.tumblr.com/) / [@heart-the-vessel](https://heart-the-vessel.tumblr.com/)


End file.
